WHITNEY and GUMBLE, Essex

[CitizenSmith]

Yes - sure.

Several years ago I met someone from the Memorial Arts Charity: an organisation based in Suffolk that preserves the heritage of traditional hand-lettering on gravestones.

They had been given a hand-made and hand-painted wooden grave marker by the vicar at Hatfield Broad Oak in Essex that commemorated the life of an unknown woman. According to the inscription on it, it had been raised by someone called Noah-William in memory of this mother. There were no other clues on it as to who the grave marker belonged to but it featured a painting of a running horse.

The Memorial Arts Charity wanted to return the grave marker to the family. As I am a family historian with Romany heritage in East Anglia, I volunteered to try and find out who they might be. Through some detective work, I now think that the grave marker may have been created by Noah William Whitney for his mother Elvy/Alvina.

Sharon

[cathyred]

hi, i am cathy daughter of frederick payton, noah whitney was his uncle, alice and ben whitney are my great grandparents.  uncle noahs wife elvina was killed in a car accident (run down). they have a son noah who still lives in takely essex.  if theres anything else i can help you with please let me know, cos i am still in contact with the whitneys. 

[king otg]

WITNEY   
EX Nevendon pbp8/8/1830 John s/o Elijah/Sarah, tinker, Hawthorn (Althorne) [WHITNEY sic]
EX Nevendon bp15/8/1836 Sarah Anne d/o Elijah/Sarah, tinman & brazier of Halthorn [WHITNEY sic]
EX Nevendon bp29/4/1841 Elijah s/o Elijah/Sarah, tinman of N. [WHITEY sic]
EX Pitsea bp25/8/1833 Eliza d/o Elijah/Sarah, tinker trav’g of Althorne
EX Pitsea bp25/8/1833 Ambrose s/o Elijah/Sarah, tinker trav’g of Althorne
KT.BRO Orpington All Saints bp26/6/1898 (b3/6/1897) Noah s/o Ben/Alice, trav of O
W.KT Teston bp15/9/1895 Elvy d/o Benjamin/Alice, hkr of Romford [WHITNEY sic]
W.KT Teston bp16/9/1900 (b1896) Walter s/o Walter/Alice, lic.hkr, van dwellers
W.KT Teston bp16/9/1900 (b June 1898) Matilda d/o Walter/Alice, lic.hkr, van dwellers
W.KT Teston bp20/9/1903 (1 yr, 8 mo) Janie d/o Walter/Alice, hkr of van
1851EX-1783/143/7 Elijah (43) tinker, Sarah (39) +6
1871EX-1667/21/33 John (48) tinman, Charlotte (31) +7
1871EX-1687/81/15 Sarah (66) hkr of pegs +3
1881EX-1787/55/24 Thomas (24) pedlar, Annie (21) +0 [WHITNEY sic]
1881EX-1787/63/8 Ambrose (48) hkr +0
1881EX-1787/85/12 Abigail (31) tailoress +1 [WHITNEY sic]
1881YKS-4698/34/4 Elijah (50) lic.hkr, Eliza (50) +2 [WHITNEY sic]
1891EX-1390/81/11 John (35) hkr, Mary (30) +5 [WEBB sic]
1891EX-1410/8/8 Thomas (37) tinker, Annie [née FROST] (27) +4
1901EX-1693/10/12 John (45) scr.gr & cutler, Mary (45) +8 [WHITNEY sic]
1901EX-1708/6/3 Thomas (49) tpl tinker, Annie (39) +8

[cathyred]

thankyou for your help, i am trying to find a marriage record of my great grandparents Benjamin and Alice whitney (nee Durrant) but so far no luck, also i have come to a dead end regarding their parents, can i ask where you got your informatiopn from, thankyou again,

Cathy

[king otg]

My infomation came from my database which I have compiled over many years. It is freely available - see "Name The Church" thread - although the original baptism information came from Essex Record Office, Bromley Library and West Kent Record Office plus the censuses which are available online.

This looks like your ancestor, Benjamin with his parents, although you have to bear in mind that WHITNEY can also be spelt WITNEY:

1881EX-1770/22/38 Prittlewell
Henry WITNEY 29 hawker
Matilda 30
William 6
Benjamin 4
George 3
Daniel 1
James under 1 month (all born Stowmarket SFK as per the census entry)

Watch for a link to the WEBB family.

TL

[cathyred]

thankyou so much, catherine

[king otg]

The marriage you seek is registered at Romford in December Quarter 1894 between Benjamin WITNEY and Alice DURRANT.

If you have precise dates of death for those buried at Edmonton I could check to see if there is more information available.

TL

[king otg]

On Ancestry there is probate information for Benjamin WHITNEY. Also another daughter of Benjamin and Alice called Beatrice born 1915, died 1917. I cannot locate the family in the 1911 census.

TL

[cathyred]

hi, thankyou very much, i will get back to you with the exact dates, but my gt grandfather whitney ben, died in 1945 aged 69 and  my gt grannie whitney alice died 1969 i think she was 92.  i am so grateful for the information they were married at romford.  the story goes that alice came from  a well to do family who didnt like travellers, so she ran off with him! Beatrice fell off a horse i think,
my aunt tilda her sister took me to see her grave  once in edmonton cemetary.


regards Catherine